The White House will release the final version of America's Clean Power Plan, a set of environmental rules and regulations that will home in on the pollution from the nation's existing power plants, setting limits on power-plant carbon emissions for the first time.

Laying out how climate change is a threat to the economy, health, well being and security of America, and adding that time was of the essence, Obama said in a video released early yesterday, "Climate change is not a problem for another generation. Not anymore."

"Power plants are the single biggest source of harmful carbon pollution that contributes to climate change. But until now there have been no federal limits to the amount of that pollution that those plants can dump into the air”, said Obama, who made the battle against climate change a core promise of his 2008 election campaign.

“Existing power plants can still dump unlimited amounts of harmful carbon pollution into the air weekly. For the sake of our kids, for the health and safety of all Americans, that's about to change”, he added.

Power plants account for some 40 per cent of US emissions of carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.

With the end of his presidency drawing ever nearer, Obama argued that the plans will lead to lower energy bills in the future for everyday Americans, create jobs in the renewable energy sector and ensure more reliable energy services.

Climate change is a hot-button issue in American politics, and cuts are politically sensitive because coal, among the dirtiest energy sources, remains a major US industry.